Jak 3

"It could have been much better."

What has Naughty Dog done? Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was a fun game with a great storyline and awesome gameplay. Jak struck back in Jak II with a fantasic storyline and superb gameplay. But in Jak 3, everything just fell apart.

Story - 6/10
The overall story involved the final act of the war between Metal Heads, Krimzon Guard robots and the citizens of Haven City, but when you actually inspected the story, it wasn't that good. The missions were connected with good motives to complete them this time, but there were a lot of points that just didn't make sense. An old rival from Jak II returned, but he was "brought back" for no apparent reason. It is explained why Daxter was turned into an ottsel, but it doesn't make any sense because everything else that touches Dark Eco is destroyed. And the identity of the Precursors is revealed, but this plot twist will leave half of the players loving it, and the other half hating the cartoony truth. And for all of the questions answered in this game, an equal number of new questions arose. Overall, Naughty Dog could have done better for this game.

Gameplay - 7/10
The addition of Light Jak and the new Morph Gun upgrades makes for a fun time, except that a lot of mission do not allow you to use these new elements, and you will usually be craving some of the usual shooting levels to test out your new guns, only to be dragged to a mission that doesn't allow the use of them. The Dune Buggies can be frustrating at times, and you may feel like throwing your controller at the screen. Other than these things, the gameplay is pretty good.

Graphics - 10/10
The graphics, as usual, are awesome. The movement flows superbly and the voices match with the lip movement. Pretty much perfect. As bad as the storyline is, it's still a Jak game, so it's gotta be good here.

Sound - 10/10
Once again, pretty darn good. Not much more to say except that they did a very good job.

Replayability - 7/10
Once you beat the game, it's a little depressing because of the ending, and you might not want to see it again. But with the addition of the new Hero Mode, ( which allows you to keep all of the Morph Gun weapons, Secrets, Precursor Armor, and some of the Light and Dark Jak abilities from your previous game) it might be a little more fun to replay it.

Overall Score - 8/10
It was the worst Jak game so far. I hope that you find it better, but I was severely disappointed. My suggestion is to rent it and play it only so that you will have your questions answered. (and so that you can develop your own opinions about it)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/15/04